Sunday, February 24, 2008

The OSU crit was canceled on Saturday so Isaac Ryan and I headed out for a solid 3 hour tempo ride. Roads were not to bad, and the temp was bearable. We ended up killing each other and made it a super tough ride. It was exactly what I needed. Training has been slacking a bit due to the foul weather.

The Road race today was not canceled so we headed out to Columbus last night. We arrived at our hotel which was quite unique. My best words of advice is that you should never ever stay at a Econo Lodge. Let me tell you that they are nasty. Our beds were covered with urine and blood stains, scattered with hair. We all had one of the worst nights of sleep in our lives, because of our fear of contracting some nasty infection. Isaac and I slept in Leg warmers, shorts, socks, long sleeve base layers, and winter hats, to avoid all contact with the sheets.Started this morning with stiff backs and sore legs from Saturdays ride. We decided it would be best not to try the motels breakfast so we hit up the golden arches. So good! I have to say I am a huge fan of McDonald's breakfast. Race today was a 40mile square road race. Almost a circuit race because the laps were only 5miles long. IU had a good showing with 6 guys. Graham the man attacked in the first corner and broke away the entire race. Mad props to him. As for the rest of us, we tried to cover as much as we could. I got away a few times throughout the race, but nothing could stick. My legs were thrashed by the time the sprint came around. Managed to get somewhere in the top 10. Props to all the IU riders for killing it today. I believe we won every category today. With Pam and Grahams win in the A's we are on track for qualifying for Nats. Off to shower and get out of these nasty clothes.

Monday, February 18, 2008

I stumbled across this photo from BKW.Is this a new wheel from Mavic? Looks like the old carbone pro with the ultimate rim. This would be a very cool production wheel. It would lighten up the old carbone pro which was one of the best wheels ever made.Introducing the lighter rim from the ultimate wheelset would lighten the wheelset up substantially while still keeping the functionality of the aluminum spokes which would allow you to true the wheel. I hope to see this out this fall.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

I headed back up to evanston on friday to get some work done on my car and pick up some stuff at the Pony Shop. I was greated with about a foot and half of snow on the ground up there. Got my car taken care of (new tire and headlight) Spent the day hanging out at the shop. It was good to chat it up for a while with Lou and John.I decided to drive back last night due to the bad weather that was going to hit Chicago on Sunday. Ryan and I today were blessed with a warm ride. It was 60 degrees out but freaking windy. Gusts up to 30mph. I got to bust the pale legs out today. It was wonderful.New Bike:Props to Isaac for winning Mentor on Saturday. I hope this is a sign of "great success" for Alderfer Bergen elite cycling team. 5 days till opening race of the season!!!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Its been nasty all week down here in Bloomington. Yesterday we got hit with a pretty nasty ice storm. It was quite amusing walking to class and seeing everyone slipping and falling everywhere. Spent a good 15min this morning scraping the half inch of ice off my car. Been riding the darn trainer all week. Its really sucking. I usually try to ride outside even in the nasty stuff but its just been to cold and wet to ride.I am pretty excited about all the new stuff I got last week. New team hooked it up with new helmet and shoes, from Specialized.I also splurged and got a new white pair of Radars. I know they are womens glasses but I think they look sick.Hillsboro Roubaix registration is open. http://www.2wheeltech.com/cms/index.php?option=com_2wreg&Itemid=57&sn=209

First race is in a week and half. I can't wait. I am heading back to Chicago this weekend to get some work done on my car and hopefully ride. I am hoping for good weather, but you never know in Chicago.

Leave you with pic of a puppy that I would love to get. Im looking into getting a Austrailan Shepherd sometime in the future.Ali is a Australian Shepherd Black lab mix. She is a pup that is at the local shelter.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

It's been a little while. I know I have been slacking on this whole blogging thing. Just been real busy. So since my last post alot has happened. We finally got our new bikes, helmets, and shoes. We are all very happy with the new stuff. It took a couple days to really get the bikes dialed in. SRM also came, I am loving the white head and the carbon cranks.

Chris came over to Bloomington this weekend to get all his new stuff. So first day out on his new bike we had a little incident. We are minding our own business riding down old 37 when a white camaro comes blazing past us, not giving us a lot of room. So instead of the usual flipping of the bird, we thought the simple wave would work just fine. Apparently the guy in the camaro did not enjoy our waves. He then decided to stop and throw down a wicked burnout. I guess we were impressed what his POS camaro could do. So we waved again. He then backed into his drive way and waited for us to roll by. We rolled by and he reved his engine and came at us. Chris decided to throw his foot out there and tap his hood. This sent the hill billy over the top and let it loose. He floored it right at us. He lost control of his car and ran into the back of Chris. Brand new bike. Chris is ok. He just got knocked into the grass, rear wheel was trashed but everything else was ok. The guy got out of his car and started yelling at us. He called us all queers and told us that he is sick of us bikers riding on his roads and taking up the road. We then called the cops to make this sucker pay. After waiting a good 30min, the cops showed up. luckily the cop was on our side. The burnout marks on the road did not lie. After filling out papers and taking lots of pictures, our friend in the camaro was handcuffed and taking down to the station. He was going to be arrested for "assault with a deadly weapon". I hope this sucker pays.

That's about all I got for this post. New bike pics will be posted this week.

Monday, February 4, 2008

I'm sick! This what I get for boozing all weekend. Pam and I spent the weekend in Columbus OH at her cousins wedding. It was a blast, but I am paying for it now. No riding+large amounts of booze+little sleep=sick. I am pounding zinc and vitamin C hoping I will feel better soon.

Still no bikes. The bike gods are not on our side this time. Isaac went to go pick them up and was unable to, because the trucks could not get through all the snow they got up in northern Indiana. So for now they are arriving here in Bloomington on Friday, via Isaacs buddies from Warsaw. Thats about all I got. Thank got the Pats finally lost.